Stkaw-cutter



J. B. DRAKE.

Straw Cutter.

Patented Maiy 17, 1859.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. B. DRAKE, OF GOSHEN,

I N DIANA.

STRAW-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,014, dated May 17, 1859.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. B. DRAKE, of Goshen, in the county of Elkhart andState of Indiana, have invented a certain Improvement in Straw-Cutters,the construction and operation of which I have described in thefollowing specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawingswith sufiicient clearness to enable competent and skilful workmen in thearts to which it pertains or is most nearly allied to make and use myinvention.

My said invention consists in the combined construction and arrangementof the toothed feeding roller, and the ratchet wheel by means of whichmotion is given to it, by which arrangement while the ratchet wheel ismade to operate more effectually as a band to keep the roller fromsplitting, at the same time the teeth are made to keep the ratchet wheelfrom working out of place as hereinafter described and shown.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a plan of my improved machine.Fig. 2 is anend elevation. Fig. 3 is a side eleva tion.

A is the frame of the machine.

B is the feed box in which the straw is to be fed to the cutting knifeD. This knife is made curved as shown in Fig. 2, and is attached bybolts 0. a to the curved bars C C. These bolts a a also act as journalsor points of connection and vibration to the links E and F as shown inFig. 2. The link E also serves as a handle by which the machine may beoperated. These links E and F are hung by small bolts 5 and (Z to thecross bar G as shown, and are further supported between those two pointsby the link H. By this mode of hanging the knife a peculiar drawing outis produced in such a manner as to keep the angle of intersectionbetween the knife and the throat piece I nearly or quite the same at allpoints of the stroke,

which arrangement when combined with the curvature of the knife gives avery happy and useful gathering action as well as drawing out to theknife.

K is a clamp by which the straw near the cutting points is condensed,which clamp is operated by means of a treadle L.

M is the feed roller by which the straw is pushed forward to the knife.It is made of wood and filled with spikes e e which enter the mass ofstraw to move it forward. Before these spikes are driven into theroller, the ratchet wheel N is driven upon it and into a centralposition as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which prevents it from splitting,and the spikes e 6 being driven in, keep it from working off the rolleror getting out of position, and at the same time and by the same means acentral position of the ratchet wheel is secured which gives a betteract-ion of the parts.

The ratchet or pawl P is operated by the points of vibration upon theends of the journals of the feeding roller M. It is 0perated by the beamto which the knife is directly attached. The clamp is kept up inposition by the spring R which gives an upward pressure to the bow 7which is a part of the frame of the clamp.

The particular improvement which constitutes my said invention and whichI claim as having been originally and first invented by me is Thearrangement'of the hinged, forked, feeding pawl frame Q, feeding andstop pawls P and T, centrally arranged ratchet wheel N spiked feedroller M, and rising and falling knife frame, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

J. B. DRAKE.

Witnesses:

JOHN W. IRWIN, JACOB L. POWELL.

forked lever Q which has its bearings or

